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Marketing Information for Builders
DIFFERENTIATING YOUR PRODUCT, OR...
GETTING THE HOME BUYER TO MAKE YOU THEIR "FINAL ANSWER"
You live your product everyday. You know every plan, every option, features of the community, all the things you can do to accommodate a customer's wishes and get the contract for their new home.
Trouble is, the customers don't. When a new home shopper enters the marketplace, they see a vast and, at first glance, very similar array of home products, differentiated mostly by location. So, given that you have product in a location of interest to the customer, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd?
The challenge is in translating all those things you know you can do for the customer into meaningful marketing messages. Certainly, the web is your most powerful and cost-effective tool for communicating the details of your offerings--and we'll come back to that in a moment--but you must first be sure your customers know you're out there, and have a basic idea of what's unique about your products.
One of the "hot" ideas to come out of this year's International Builders Show in Las Vegas was the idea of having a "new home consultant" come to the current home of your potential buyer with product information (photos, elevations, floorplans) and even decorating samples, to begin the selections process without the customer ever setting foot in your product. The idea is to position yourself as offering convenience, and by making the buyer comfortable with your product before an on-site visit, they will be more favorably inclined toward your product when they actually do arrive to see it.
Making that initial contact with a buyer is "Marketing 101," but many builders fail to implement those initial and fundamental steps that lead to more sales. Direct mail postcards, offering the in-home "new home consultant" service, should be regularly mailed to Zip codes or parts of town that have traditionally produced many of your buyers. In addition, classified or modest-sized display ads in the newspaper, primarily directing buyers to your website for more information, are a cost-effective way to be "in the paper" without having to run a large ad to explain everything you're offering. For certain markets (particularly first-time buyers), radio is an effective option, particularly if you're considering a weekend open house or other date-specific event where you can run a lot of announcements in a relatively short time, leading up to the event.
As with all advertising, the keys are to define your target audience carefully, and then make contact with them repeatedly. In the advertising business, the maxim is that "frequency equals results". Too many builders run one or two ads and then "give up," when in fact their message hadn't been out there long enough to motivate people to action. Plan an advertising budget in advance--choose your medium and per-ad cost so you can afford to run/mail/air the message repeatedly over an 8-13 week period--and you'll see greatly improved response rates.
OK, so you've run the message, offered in-home service to acquaint the buyers with your product, and now you have to be sure they see enough differentiation between you and your competitor to choose YOU as their "final answer." Here's where the Web can make the difference. A well-planned website will make it easy for them to see all the details about different plans you offer, the options they may choose, the communities in which you build, and, (if you're offering them) services such as incentives and mortgage assistance. The ability of the buyer to close those final "information gaps" with answers from your website may be the key to getting that buyer to contract.
The HBAMT's new home website, HomeShowAmerica.com, provides a pre-built web environment designed to streamline the listing of such information, and has sophisticated tools that will allow you to capture buyer preferences and contact information, and--most significantly--manage your follow-up with each prospect to be sure they perceive your company to be responsive and helpful. Sometimes the victory goes to the builder who is best at delivering that most essential and intangible item--attentive service--and good web technology, like Home Show America, can help you fulfill that role with relatively little effort.
Put these ideas together and you have the basics of a very efficient and easy-to-administer marketing program, one that will improve traffic and allow you to make the most of an improving economy and improving spring weather!
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Home Builder's Association of Middle Tennessee selects Home Show America.com as Official Website
The Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee (HBAMT) has selected HomeShowAmerica.com, an easy-to-use, searchable website of new homes throughout the midstate, as its official website to showcase the work of its member/builders.
"We evaluated several websites as potential online partners, but we found Home Show America's design and ease-of-use to be a superior way for our members to connect with home shoppers and showcase their products and services," explained HBAMT Executive Director John Sheley . "We also found HSA's business model to be a good fit with the Association's objectives--we very much appreciate the fact that HomeShowAmerica.com is devoted entirely to helping home shoppers find new homes in the middle Tennessee market."
HomeShowAmerica.com utilizes an extremely fast and powerful search engine, developed by HSA's parent company, Acuity Marketing Communications, to deliver new home information to home shoppers based on their shopping preferences. "HomeShowAmerica.com goes beyond other real estate websites in the quality and amount of information we deliver to home shoppers," Dreves explained. "People don't just buy homes; they buy based on communities, schools, shopping and lifestyle. HomeShowAmerica.com provides all that information, plus detailed information on thousands of new homes, in a way that's easy, quick and fun to use."
One of HomeShowAmerica.com's unique features allows home shoppers to build a "portfolio" of favorite homes they've seen as they explore the site, allowing them to organize favorites and easily receive additional information about homes of particular interest. When home shoppers request more information, the builder of the favorite home will be automatically alerted to respond to the home shopper's request.
"This is a terrific service for home shoppers who want to get the most information in the least possible time," noted Sheley. "It's also an effective way for our member-builders and product suppliers to deliver information to customers who really need and want it."
From an informational standpoint, HomeShowAmerica.com will contain up-to-the-minute information on new homes for sale throughout middle Tennessee, because, unlike other real estate websites, the participating builders will be able to update information themselves, in real time. "That means you won't have customers driving out to see a house that's already been sold," explains Dreves, "and home shoppers will have the confidence of knowing that the home shopping they do online will be a real reflection of what's out there in the marketplace."
Home shoppers will also have the ability to download and print a comprehensive brochure on each home listed on HomeShowAmerica.com. For participating builders, HSA's "IntstantBrochure" technology represents a substantial savings over having conventionally-printed brochures designed and duplicated, and allows them to have an up-to-date and professional brochure on every home they offer, Dreves noted.
To learn more about HomeShowAmerica.com, visit the website, or contact Ashley Knudsen at the HSA office, 615-591-7025 or E-mail her at BuilderSupport@HomeShowAmerica.com .
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